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892 F.

2d 75

NOTICE: Fourth Circuit I.O.P. 36.6 states that citation of


unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing
res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires
service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Fourth
Circuit.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Benjamin BOLAN, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 89-5177.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.


Submitted: Nov. 8, 1989.
Decided: Nov. 30, 1989.

Michael J. Cassidy, for appellant.


Henry E. Hudson, United States Attorney; Paul G. Cassell, Assistant
United States Attorney; Keith Donahoe, Third-Year Law Student, for
appellee.
Before PHILLIPS and WILKINSON, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER,
Senior Circuit Judge.
PER CURIAM:

Benjamin Bolan was convicted by a jury on June 23, 1989, of assault with a
dangerous weapon resulting in serious injury in violation of 18 U.S.C. 113(f),
and possession of a sharp instrument by a prisoner in violation of 18 U.S.C.
13 (assimilating Va.Code Ann. 53.1-203(4) (1988)). He was sentenced to 112
months under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Bolan appeals his
conviction asserting that the district court judge erred by refusing to give the
jury a "missing witness" instruction as Bolan requested. We affirm the
conviction.
Bolan was an inmate at Lortan Reformatory in Lorton, Virginia, when the

events giving rise to his conviction took place. Testimony given at trial
establishes that on the evening of August 27, 1988, Bolan and another Lorton
inmate, Ernest Roach, argued loudly over the use of a chair in one of the
facility's television rooms. The argument was temporarily settled by a guard
who intervened, but Bolan remained angry and told a nearby witness he was
"going to do" Roach. Moments later, Bolan charged Roach from behind and
stabbed him repeatedly in the back of the neck with a shank. There were two
eyewitnesses to the attack. Prison guards quickly stepped in and restrained
Bolan and Roach.

The witnesses who saw the attack testified on behalf of the government. They
described what took place and the extent of Roach's injuries, which were
significant. The guard who settled the argument between Bolan and Roach and
who later helped restrain the two after the stabbing also testified. The
government made arrangements for Roach to take the stand as well, but
apparently he lost his way en route to court and never showed up. At the close
of the government's case, Bolan declined to put forward any evidence but did
ask for a "missing witness" instruction to the jury based upon the government's
failure to produce Roach. Bolan assigns as error the district court judge's
refusal to do so.

A missing witness instruction is one that a judge may give to a jury if the judge
feels that a party's failure to call a witness permits an inference that the
witness's testimony would be adverse to the party's case. A leading
commentator explains the instruction as part of the principle "that the failure of
a party to produce available evidence that would help decide an issue may
justify an inference that the evidence would be unfavorable to the party to
whom it is available." 2 C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure 489
(1982). To qualify for such an instruction two requirements must be met. It
must be shown that the party who has failed to call the witness has it peculiarly
within its power to produce the witness. The witness's testimony in turn must
"elucidate" issues important to the trial, as opposed to being cumulative of other
evidence already heard. See, e.g., United States v. Rollins, 862 F.2d 1282,
1297-98 (7th Cir.1988). The decision to give a missing witness instruction or
not is left to the district court's discretion.

In this instance we find that the district court acted well within its discretion.
The judge found specifically that Roach's testimony would only corroborate
that of previous witnesses who described the argument between the inmates,
the assault itself, and the extent of injuries suffered by Roach. Bolan has not
indicated why Roach's testimony was essential to shed light on any issue
relevant to the case. Bolan has also failed to show that Roach was available as a

witness only to the government and not to Bolan himself. The record indicates
that Roach's absence was due to circumstances beyond the control of either
party and that the government was very keen to have him appear at trial. Bolan
has thus failed to satisfy the requisites for the instruction he seeks and cannot
demonstrate that the district court abused its discretion.
6

The district court inadvertently listed 18 U.S.C. 113(c) as the offense of


conviction in its original judgment but corrected it to read 113(f) upon a
motion by the government. The correction renders Bolan's challenge to the
length of his sentence meritless.

AFFIRMED.

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